Patriot Tennis Pulls Out 3-2 Win Over Visiting Miners Wednesday

by Amanda York

Staff Writer

Playing his best match of the season so far, Owen Valley’s number one singles player Ethan “Aquaman” Hoadley pulled out a big win over his Linton counterpart to cement the Patriots’ 3-2 win. (Staff Photo) The Owen Valley Patriot tennis team hosted the visiting Linton Miners on Wednesday, earning a 3-2 victory and bringing their season team record to 1-2.

All the matches played are important, but perhaps the most critical win came from number one singles, OV’s Ethan Hoadley. After losing the first set 1-6, Hoadley came roaring back to win the second 7-6 (7-5) tiebreaker. He won the third set by default after his opponent, Linton’s Seth Herndon, developed leg cramps.

“Ethan played his best match of the season,” OV head coach Mike Spinks remarked. “His opponent was a very strong tennis player, but Ethan kept his focus, had good ball placement and played to his potential.”

Also picking up wins were the Owen Valley number one and two doubles teams of Dalton Vest and Corbin Worland, and Hogan McHaley and Dillon Hege.

Now posting their third win of the season, Vest and Worland easily defeated the Miners’ Taylor Sloan and Cody Kocher, 6-1, 6-1.

New to the varsity lineup, freshman Dillon Hege teamed up with Hogan McHaley on Wednesday to take on Tyler Ivey and Brandon Flater, winning 6-4, 6-2.

“Dalton and Corbin had great effort tonight and continue to play solid tennis matches,” Spinks explained. “Hogan and Dillon played together for the first time and were consistent in their serving game and worked well on the court together.”

The two loses for the Patriots came from number two and number three singles with Gabe McHaley falling 7-5, 7-5 despite a valiant effort, and David Deatrick losing 6-4, 6-4 in his contest.

“Gabe, again, gave it his all, but lost a close match,” Spinks said. “David has got to learn to keep the ball in play more and move his opponent on the court in order to come up with a win.”

Owen Valley was scheduled to take on Western Indiana Conference rival Edgewood on Thursday before enjoying a three-day break. The Patriots will next be in action on Monday, August 30 when they travel to Mooresville for a 5:00 p.m. match-up.